Making your clothes is becoming a popular hobby as part of a new make do and mend culture. Zoe Chamberlain finds out why.

INVENTIVE young mums are coming up with a novel way of saving money – by turning their maternity clothes into babywear.

Such is the thirst for ‘make do and mend’ today that people from all walks of life are learning to sew in a bid to make their money go further and create something unique for themselves and their families.

Gill Arnold teaches everyone from accountants and solicitors to OAPS, new parents and teenagers at her sewing school in Hall Green, Birmingham.

And the skilled seamstress is also offering to share her skills at the Sewing For Pleasure Show at the NEC next week.

“It’s nice when the young mums bring in the maternity wear that’s no longer needed and they turn it into something useful for their baby or little one,” says Gill, who has two grown-up sons.

“Making something from nothing gives them a great sense of fulfilment.

“I have young girls who make their own prom dresses, brides who learn to make their wedding gown from scratch.

“I’ve even got one lady who has made a phenomenal amount of glitzy, elaborate outfits to last her 90 days on a cruise.”

Gill taught both her sons to sew and her eldest James, 27, now uses the skill in his job in product design.

“He’s found it very useful. If he’s making a chair out of plastic, he can make the fabric cover himself too.

“He recently made a stretcher for mountain rescue. He needed to be able to weld and sew to make it light.

“Sewing is useful in so many different ways.

“My younger son Thomas, now 25, knows how to sew too. He’s an accountant now like my brother.

“My husband Robert is an engineer. We’re a very practical family.”

Gill worked in manufacturing and teaching when her children were little, then set up Gill Arnold Training in 1997 and discovered there was a niche in the market as so many people were tired of ill-fitting, high street clothes.

She says: “Some people come to me because they are fed up with the fact they cannot get clothes to fit them.

“Many of us are proportionately larger in the waist now than years ago, and are different sizes top and bottom.

“If you are not a standard size, then off-the-peg clothes don’t fit.

“But if you learn to sew, you can make anything you want.

“Some arrive thinking they can make a jacket on the first night, they don’t realise what’s involved. They think it will be much simpler.

“To start with, we look at what they are wearing and how we can alter, embellish and recreate it so they get a sense of achievement. I like to give them the foundation skills and help them to grow confidence with the sewing machine.

“In time, they will learn how to make their own jacket.”

One of Gill’s most popular classes is where she teaches how to recreate a classic Chanel jacket.

“If you were to go and buy a Chanel jacket, it would cost around £4,000.

“At the Sewing for Pleasure show, you can buy Chanel style fabric and I can teach people how to make that style jacket for under £100.

“And what’s more, it fits them because it’s been tailor made for them.”

Not surprisingly, Gill makes all her own clothes.

“I do a lot of seminars and I think it’s very important that what I’m wearing sells my business,” she says.

“I can point to different parts of my outfit to show people what they will be learning.

“With sewing you never stop learning. There’s always a different style, a different fabric, something that’s really challenging.

“Making something from nothing gives people a great sense of fulfilment.”

Gill says many high-powered businesswomen attend her sewing school for escapism.

“Some people come to my classes as a kind of therapy,” says Gill.

“People in high-powered jobs say doing something creative gives them a break. Having to concentrate helps them to block out all their worries and troubles for a couple of hours.

“It gives them a buzz to be working with their hands to create something new.”

Some career girls also learn the skill to ensure they don’t end up attending networking events in the same outfits as others.

Gill explains: “Accountants and solicitors come, not because making their own clothes is a cheaper option, but because when they go out, they don’t want to see someone else in the same outfit.”

Gill believes sewing is a skill that is lacking on today’s curriculum in schools.

“They don’t teach sewing in schools anymore and I think they should,” she says.

“There’s a whole generation that have no experience in sewing.

“This is a skill which would have, traditionally, been passed down from mother to daughter.

“Mothers often don’t have the time to sew like they used to.

“And, because of the health and safety culture we live in, many parents are concerned about having a sewing machine in the house for fear of their child hurting themselves.

“I’ve worked in the US and been told I can’t use pins and needles because of the risk of blood transfer.

“I was able to use a sewing machine at the age of six, my mother had no concerns I would hurt myself. In schools, I appreciate it can be difficult with a class of 30, but I’ve come across children who can’t use a pair of scissors.

“I’ve had girls who have started with me at 11 or 13 and gone onto start their own fashion businesses.

“Others exhibit their work at the Clothes Show Live or work with tailors. I’ve found boys are often very good at sewing, and they love using sewing machines because they generally love power, speed, machines and buttons.

“It’s a shame there’s sometimes a stigma. There was a mother who brought her son to me and he was very good but she didn’t want to buy him a sewing machine as she felt there was a stigma attached it.

“Another boy I’ve taught has gone onto the London School of Fashion. He was a rugby player and wouldn’t tell any of his friends, or even his girlfriend, he was doing classes with me until he’d been accepted in London.

“My brother could sew at a very young age. He’s an accountant now.

“I think boys have to be very determined to sew, it’s a pity as they can make very good tailors.”

Sewing for pleasure show

EMBRACE the handmade trend that is sweeping the nation by visiting Sewing for Pleasure, Fashion, Embroidery & Stitch and Hobbycrafts taking place at the NEC, Birmingham, from March 21 - 24.

Over 150 exhibitors will be offering all the very latest supplies, ideas and innovations in the stitching world.

There will be free workshops, demonstrations and fashion shows together with a special selection of costumes from television and film adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels.

The star-studded collection includes Colin Firth’s iconic white shirt from Pride and Prejudice, Gwyneth Paltrow’s beautiful dress from Emma and Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson’s costumes from Sense and Sensibility.

There are also free Make & Take sessions featuring beadwork and jewellery making, stamping and papercraft, embossing and pyrography and marbling.

* Tickets start from £9, and are available from www.ichf.co.uk or call 01425 277988.